Titanic
by setsofsoulmates
Summary: she knew there were the Titanic moments when your life was changed by a sudden and harrowing announcement. She knew that after this moment, it would be a struggle to breathe, a struggle to talk, to look, to not breakdown and cry. And she had the sinking f


**Sweet Valley High: Senior Year**

**Titanic**

**A/N:** This is my first SVH fiction. My SVH knowledge is pretty much based on the Senior Year series so if I get something wrong, don't kill me. Hope you enjoy this and please leave a review! -G. xxx

**Summary:** She knew there were Titanic moments when your life was changed by a sudden and harrowing announcement. And she had the sinking feeling her own life was about to change.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own nor am I affiliated with Sweet Valley High. I also don't own the name Titanic but we all knew that.

**Chapter One:** The Crash

Elizabeth froze as she stood outside the McDermott/Sandborn residence. The house suddenly took on a surreal feel. The house blurred around the edges and turned a strange blue-green colour. She stared at it and blinked, trying to get the heavy feeling out of her head and away from her stomach.

She knew there were moments in everyone's lives. When your life could be changed by a look, a touch, a sigh. And then she knew there were the Titanic moments when your life was changed by a sudden and harrowing announcement. She knew that after this moment, it would be a struggle to breathe, a struggle to talk, to look, to not breakdown and cry. And she had the sinking feeling her own life was about to change. And she knew it was a Titanic moment.

She stood at the edge of the driveway, the slamming of her door reverberating around her. Should she stay and have her life changed or should she go? She barely had a moment to think about it.

"Liz?" Megan's voice chirped in surprise as she threw open the front door.

"Megan!" Liz screamed, running towards the young girl. Both their faces were lit with smiles from one ear to the other as they threw their arms around each other and squeezed for dear life. She had known as soon as she saw Megan that she would not be able to leave.

"Ugh," Megan laughed, getting a bunch of Elizabeth's hair caught in her mouth. She removed it quickly and took in the length her big 'sister.' "You look amazing. Did you come straight from the airport?"

"Are you joking?" Elizabeth laughed, taking in her torn jeans and blue-green spaghetti strap top.

"About which bit?" Megan asked, her brow furrowing good-naturedly.

"That I look good," Elizabeth answered, looking at her friend as if she was crazy. She shook her head and sighed. "I didn't come straight from the airport. I got home yesterday. Look at you. All grown-up now. It's hard to believe you're already eighteen."

"And you're twenty-two," Megan said, throwing her arms up in there. She paused and surreptitiously glanced quickly to the driveway. Empty. "Want to come inside?"

"I'd love too," Elizabeth said, trying as hard as she could to ignore the uneasy feeling that sat like lead in her stomach. She confidently followed Megan into the house she herself had once lived in.

"Elizabeth," Mrs. Sandborn's voice called from the stairs. She sounded happy as she raced down the stairs. "You're back from traipsing around Europe."

"Yeah, I am," Elizabeth replied, unable to keep the smile off her face as Megan interrupted her.

"Mum, Elizabeth wasn't just in Europe," she said with a sigh. "She was in India, Peru and Tibet and all that with Evan and Jade and then she went to Europe."

"It's ok, Megan," Elizabeth said with a laugh.

"Megan, I know that," Mrs. Sandborn said, rolling her eyes and looking over at Elizabeth who smiled back. "I apologise. Megan, would you have preferred it if I had said, 'you're back from traipsing around the world?'"

Megan nodded, satisfied. She ushered Elizabeth into the living room where they plonked down on the couch. Elizabeth sighed and sank into the plush leather and rested her head against the back of the seat as Mrs. Sandborn went into the kitchen to get coffee.

"You have no idea how good is to be back here. I can actually feel the sun on my face and the weather is beautiful," Elizabeth said, breathing in the familiar air and closing her eyes.

"I remember when Conner's father and I went to Europe before he was born," Mrs. Sandborn called from the kitchen, allowing a piece of information about herself slip effortlessly from her lips. That was unusual. "We had a great time. But that was years ago."

Megan rolled her eyes and turned to Elizabeth, an eager smile on her face.

"Oh, before I forget," Elizabeth said, standing up. "I have presents for you. Their in my car."

"Really?" Megan said, her eyes excited. "Awesome."

"I'll go get them," Liz replied, walking towards the kitchen.

"No, don't," Megan cried. "We'll do presents later. I want to hear all about it first. Besides, Mum's making coffee and I know you don't like your coffee cold."

"Umm, ok," Liz replied, sitting back down. She glanced over at Megan who shot her a smile and then looked away. "Megan, what's up?"

"What do you mean?" Megan asked, staring Elizabeth in the eyes. Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief but then she inhaled and made herself comfortable. "There's nothing up."

"For the record, I don't believe you. There's something you're hiding from me but because I'm so excited to be back and to see you, I'll let it slip," Elizabeth said, eliciting a sigh of relief from Megan. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," Megan said, enthusiastically.

"Everything might be a little long," Elizabeth laughed, as she accepted her cup of coffee from Mrs. Sandborn with a smile. "Thanks, Eleanor."

"So, give me the abbreviated version," Megan said, clasping her hands around her warm cup of coffee. She beamed up at her Mum who took a the armchair across for them.

"Well, first Evan, Jade and I went to India. We basically just walked around and slept in tents and went to the markets. And then we went to Kashmir for a week and hired a houseboat, which was beautiful. We had a cook and a butler and everything."

"I'm surprised Evan went for that," Megan said, her eyes widening. "Jade must have really got to him."

"Actually, we paid them about triple the price that they expected. It was still peanuts to us but," Elizabeth explained. She then told them how they had left India and traipsed across to Tibet and from Tibet to Peru where Evan and Jade had been married about halfway up a mountain. They had left Elizabeth soon after and gone back down through Nepal and then back home to settle in Sweet Valley. Elizabeth had caught the travel bug by then and had decided to go to Egypt for a month and then flew over to Europe where she traveled around the whole continent, financing herself by getting jobs that included food, board and even a small allowance.

"I wasn't exactly living glamorously but I had an awesome time," she said, a smile lighting up her already radiant features.

"I'll bet," Megan said, breathily. "I just wish you had of waited until I was old enough to come with you."

"I'll still go with you," Elizabeth said, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of returning overseas.

"You will?" Megan asked, with a laugh. "You were just saying how happy you were to be home."

"I am but nothing can compare to being over in Europe. I mean, the architecture is brilliant and the culture is like nothing else. There are no hotdogs and people running into each other with helmets on while throwing around something that resembles a ball and calling it sport," she said, in good humour.

"Don't ever let Tia or your sister hear you say that," Mrs. Sandborn said, standing up. She looked at her watch and then over at Megan. Elizabeth copied them. She had been there for over an hour and there had been no life changing announcements. "Speaking of Tia, have you seen her yet?"

"No, I haven't. I haven't even seen Jess. No one except for Mum and Dad knew I was coming back so Tia and Jess planned a weekend retreat for just the two of them leaving the kids with Trent and Will, I think. And I haven't heard from Maria in about two years. I don't know why. We just kind of lost touch or something," Elizabeth said, her eyes glazing over. It still hurt her that she and Maria didn't talk. It wasn't as if she hadn't tried. There had been countless emails that weren't replied to and Maria was always conveniently away when Elizabeth tried to call.

"I'm sure there's a good reason for it," Eleanor said, shooting Megan a look. Megan opened her mouth and turned to Elizabeth but her mother interjected, "Megan, don't you have to get ready for work?"

"I don't start work for two hours," Megan said, throwing her mother a death stare. "And besides, I think it's time she knew."

"Knew what?" Elizabeth asked, as the mother and daughter fought.

"It's not our place to tell her," Mrs. Sandborn shot back.

"If we don't tell her, who will?" Megan countered.

"Tell me what?" Elizabeth yelled over the two. They both stopped and looked at her as a car pulled into the driveway. Elizabeth's eyes were drawn to the car. Maria's car. Maria's car was in the Sandborn's driveway. She walked blindly to the kitchen and out the front door, her eyes never leaving the sight. Conner, her Conner, hopped out of the car and walked around to the back door where he opened it up and pulled out the most beautiful dark-skinned baby she had ever seen.

"Vashti," Megan whispered, her hand finding Elizabeth's. "She's two."

Elizabeth squeezed Megan's hand tight. Conner was still oblivious as he pulled out the girl who was so obviously his daughter out and straightened up her denim skirt and vest outfit. Elizabeth looked at the little girl. Conner's eyes, Conner's hands, Conner's chin. Maria's lips, Maria's hair, Maria's skin. He placed his left hand on top of the car and Elizabeth felt her stomach drop further to the ground.

A silver wedding ring adorned his finger.

She silently retched as Conner casually looked up and waved at his mother who had come around the front of the house and was now hugging the little girl. He looked over to the kitchen and saw them.

"Liz," he stated, his face paling.

"Conner," she said, somehow keeping the sob out of her voice. She turned to Megan. "Can I use your bathroom?"

She nodded as Liz turned on her heel and bolted towards the bathroom she and Conner had once shared. When she got there, she immediately walked over to the toilet, collapsed on her hands and knees and began retching. She had never felt so sick as the hot, frustrated and confused tears ran down her face and she heaved her breakfast of cereal and toast into the white porcelain. She let her head rest on the edge of the bathtub, her head banging against it as she sobbed violently. She heard Megan calling to her from what had been Conner's room. She flushed the toilet and crawled over to the door, reluctantly unlocking it.

"I'm so sorry," Megan whispered, getting on her own hands and knees and crawling over to Liz. She put her arms around the girl and let her cry, repeating the same words over and over again. "I'm so sorry."

Conner stood at the bedroom door watching his little sister comfort Elizabeth.

"_It should have been her,"_ he thought as he watched her tiny frame shaking with the sobs. The bile rose in his throat and he felt his heartbreak as he watched her cry. He hated causing her pain. He had never liked it but this time it was worse because he could not comfort her, he could not fix this. She should never have had to deal with this. He was the one who had made the mistake. He and Maria. They should be the one's paying for it. Not her. But he had made a mistake nearly three years ago and now, they were all paying.

The Titanic had crashed. But how would Elizabeth survive?


End file.
